Ink transfer device



April 29, 1952 GARRAHAN 2,595,070

- I I INK TRANSFER DEVICE Filed March 2, 1948 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR .E aga 10 Garrafiau 41% ATTORNEY I April 29, 1952 E. GARRAHAN 2,595,070

INK TRANSFER DEVICE Filed March 2, 194.8 2 SI-IEETSSHEET 2 INVENTQR Eugene fi'arrafiazz MM yaw/6 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 1952 INK TRANSFER'DEVICE Eugene Garrahanj, Harrison, N. J., assiglior' to Radio Corporation of Americana corporation of Delaware Application March 2, 1948,:SerialTNo. 12,507

n A, 6 Claims.- 1

The invention relates. to marking: machines of the type. employing. a marking. roller and one or. more. inking rollers for. transferring. ink

froma reservoir to suitable type on the periphery of said marking roller, and more particularly to structures for controlling. the amount of ink transfer.

It is an object of the inventiontoprovide a marking. machine for. applying a clean imprint on units. to bemarked.

A. further object isto provide an ink transfer devicelfor a marking machine, for. critically. ap-' plyingink to a. marking roller for assuring. a clearly defined imprint by said roller.

An additional object is tocontrol theamount and the area: of application ofiink to a marking roller tosecure a highly legibleimprint with freedom from. smudging.

Another object is to control theamount of. ink

According to the invention'these objects are attained by theprovisionrof. one or more controls of theinkquantity; at least onthe inking roller adjacent the marking; roller..

struction, preferably in association-with. an" adjustable. support for at least two rollers, in. the eventa. plurality' of rollers-are used, whereby the pressureor spacing between the two rollersmay be" varied to secure any; desired degreeof: im-- pedance to ink. transfer.

Referring to the. drawing;

Figure 1 shows-partly. in sectiona'side -view' taken'alongthe line l-'-l. of Figure 2 of a mark-=- ing; machine in which. the-invention: is incor-" porated};

Figure 21sh'ows-a front view partly in: section along-.thelinefl-Z oiFigure 1;.

Figure 3 depicts a viewpa'rtlyi in'section' from the rear of the. inking: device taken 'along the line" 3=-3 E of Figure 1';

Figure i is-aperspective view of'one'of the" novel scrapers ofthe invention for scrapinganend surface of one'or more inking rollers;

Figure 5 is a perspective View of' another scraper of the invention which is employed to scrape both peripheral and end surfacesofone inking roller;

Figure 6-is a fragmentary side view; partly in These controls may include oneor. more scrapers of novel con-- embodiment thereof.

2 section of 'a marking? machine showing the ac'cu mulation of ink on'the end surfaces-of the inking" rollers in the'absence of theink transfer control means of the invention; and.

Figure'Iis-a front view of the rollers shown in Figure 6 and illustrates the beadformation of"v ink on the rollers adjacent theirends' which r'e-' s'ults when. the" invention is not employed,

While'my invention can be employed in association with one or'more inking rollers; the'use" of two such rollers has been chosen.for.illustra'-' tio'n, both because it permitso'f a clearer description of the invention and represents. a" preferred The use of two rollers is preferred because it permits of an advantageous employment of one of the rollers asa'nink'quantity control,. which otherwise would require an additional member; thein'k controls provided by the invention may be used satisfactorily without the third control, it is preferred. to employ all three ink controls" to assure optimum results.

According to my invention two or mor'efink quantity controls engage peripheral'andend'surfaces of oneor'more inking rollers at angularly displaced locations thereon; The'inkin'g rollers may preferably be disposed one above the other.

As'the: peripheraland end surfaces of" the lower inking" roller, whichi extend'intothe' ink reservoir,- emerge. therefrom, they arev first engagedby. a

novel scraper which cont'actsboth the peripheral ical spacing between oppose surfaces. of the rollers will. provide an additional ink' quantity control at this point by deny'ing" space t'oth'e passageof an excess quantity of" ink. beyond, the line of conta'ct oradjacency ofthe rollers.

These" controls modify the ink content on theperipheral and end surfaces of the-lower. roller; and? the amountlof'ink. transferred to the periph erali surface offther upper ro1ler. Howeve'rNth'e:

second" control referred toinvolving. a critical spacing betweenthe rollers is characterized by modified extrusion action'asv a result of whichthe inkon the-peripheral surface'is pushed away ina direction opposite tov thedirection of'rotation" of the rollers. Some of-the ink thus pushedawa-y" will find itswayto the ends of the rollers: and will flow downwardly over irth'e surfaces thereof' and willzreturn-to'the peripheral surfaces to form beads thereon atlocations 1 between the-second? In" addition, while twoo'f I control referred to and the point of contact with the marking roller. Unless the formation of these beads is prevented, smudges will be produced on the marking roller, which may be transmitted to the units to be marked. Accordingly, the invention provides for a third ink control which is disposed between the second control and the point of contact between the upper inking roller and the marking roller. This third control comprises a novel scraper engaging the ends of the rollers to prevent the ink thereon from flowing to the peripheral surfaces thereof to form objectionable beads thereon.

A marking machine in which the invention may be used advantageously is shown in Figure 1. This machine includes a marking roller I0, mounted for rotation on shaft I, a receptacle 2 holding a plurality of units to be marked, which may be electron discharge devices l3, is provided with a feed control comprising a roller |4 mounted on a support l5 for vertical movement into and out of the path of travelof the units l3. Rotary movement of roller ID will cause a raised portion IS on its periphery to engage the periphery of unit l3 for applying thereto a suitable imprint. Further, rotary travel of roller l will bring cutaway portion |1 thereof into registry with unit l3, whereby the latter will fall into said cutaway portion and be carried to chute [8 for transfer to another station.

According to the invention an ink transfer device is provided for inking the type on the raised portion I6 of roller Hi. This device may include.

one or more inking rollers. Two inking rollers l9 and 20 are shown mounted for rotation on parallel shafts 2| and 22 which are axially displaced in a vertical plane. Shaft H of the marking roller i0 is in parallel relation to shafts 2| and 22. Shafts 2| and 22 are suitably supported in bearings in the yoke support 23 shown more clearly in Figures 2 and 3. The bottom inking roller 20 is partly submerged in ink 24 contained in ink reservoir 25.

The ink transfer device according to my invention is provided with one or more scrapers 26 and 21. Scraper 21 more clearly shown in Figure may be made of sheet metal and is mounted to engage a peripheral portion of roller 20 with an edge of its transverse portion 28. Scraper 21 is provided with end wing portions 29 disposed in planes normal to the plane of transverse portion 28. The wing portions 29 engage the ends of roller 28. As will be noted from Figure 1 the direction of rotation of roller 20 is such that Y scraper 21 is the first ink control means to act on this roller after it emerges from the ink reservoir. The action of scraper 21 need not be critical and may, if this scraper is used in association with two additional control means of the invention to be described, be used to roughly condition the ink supply on roller 20 for such subsequent controls.

One of such subsequent controls is represented by the peripheral engagement of the inking rollers I9 and 20. This engagement may be accomplished with any desired pressure. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the yoke support 23 includes two lower separable portions 3|, 32, separated from the upper portion by bodies of resilient texture 33, 34. The lower portions 3|, 32 are supported by screws 35, 38 which pass through a passageway or slot (not shown) in the said lower portions and engage suitable threads (not shown) provided in the upper portion of the yoke support 23. Rollers I9, 20 may therefore be caused to approach or recede from each other in response to the turning of screws 35, 36 to vary the separation or pressure therebetween to a desired value. An increase in said pressure or a reduction in the separation of said rollers will result in a diminution of ink transferred to the peripheral surface of roller 19, while a reduction in such pressure or an increase in the separation of the rollers will provide an increased supply of ink on the peripheral surface of roller l9. Varying the pressure or distanc between rollers |9 and 2B is therefore an additional manner in which the quantity of ink on the ink rollers may be controlled.

A third and final control of the ink quantity on the inking rollers provided by the invention is accomplished by scraper 26 shown more clearly in Figure 4. This scraper may also be made of flat sheet metal and includes transverse portion 31 and portion 38 disposed normal to portion 31. Portion 31 is provided with a hole 39 for mounting on yoke support 23 as shown more clearly in Figure 3. The portion 38 of scraper 26 is disposed with its flat side against a side of rollers I9, 20 and with its edge 40 facing a direction that is against the direction of rotation of said rollers.

Figures 6 and 7 show ink conditions on rollers I9, 20 that scrapers 26 and 21 are designed to correct. As the lower roller 20 passes through the ink 24 a relatively large quantity of ink adheres to its peripheral and end surfaces. Scraper 21 removes most of this ink on these surfaces but a further concentration of ink results from the pressure between rollers 9, 20 previously referred to. This further concentration of ink will flow downwardly toward scraper 21 and laterally to the ends of the roller. But scraper 21 has no control of such flow of ink. Without further control the ink that thus flows to the ends of the rollers after the bottom roller has passed scraper 21, will normally flow downwardly until it reaches the lateral extremities of the ends and will pass to the peripheral surfaces of rollers I9, 20 forming relatively thick beads 4|, 42, 43, 44 shown in Figure '1. These beads may assume such large proportions as to bridge the distance between inking roller I9 and the unraised portion of the periphery of marking roller I0. Such undesired ink transfer to the marking roller may result in smudges on the units to be marked.

This undesirable ink condition on the inking rollers l9, 2!] cannot adequately be prevented by scraper 21 and the pressure control between the rollers. Therefore the invention provides for the additional control represented by scraper 2B which engages end portions of the inking rollers and extends beyond the peripheral boundaries of such portions. It is not necessary that scraper 26 engage a radius of the roller ends. It will be noted from Figure 1 that the angular path of the upper roller I9, whose ink condition is more critical than that of the lower, roller, between scraper 26 and engagement with marking roller I3, is less than degrees. Therefore ink not removed by scraper 26 from the ends of roller I9 will have no opportunity of reaching the periphery of the roller prior to engagement of this roller with marking roller l0. Therefore when such engagement takes place the objectionable bead formations referred to will be effectively prevented by scraper 26.

It is preferred to drive rollers l9 and 20 by independent spur gears 45, 46 shown in Figures 2 and 3. It is however feasible to drive the lower angers roller 20 only, and rely on the frictional surface engagement between rollers 20 and I 9 for rotating the 'upperroller I9. Neither is the invention critical as to the rotary power for the marking roller ID. This roller may be actuated by an independent power source, or it may be rotated by frictional engagement with the upper inking roller I9. If it relies on uch frictional engagement the advantages of the invention are most noticeable since under this condition the smud y condition produced by the objectionable ink beads in the absence of my invention would be considerably aggravated. I

Numerous modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A marking machine comprising a marking roller and at least one inking roller, a receptacle for presenting units to be marked to said marking roller, and an ink reservoir in which said at least one inking roller is partly submerged, and means for controlling the quantity of ink transferred by said at least one inking roller to said marking roller, said means comprising a scraper having an edge and two surface portions, said edge engaging a longitudinal portion of the peripheral surface of said inking roller, said two surface portions engaging opposite ends of said inking roller, an additional scraper engaging each end of said roller, said last named scraper having an edge disposed vertically and facing the direction of rotation of said roller and engaging a surface portion of said each end that is displaced from said ink reservoir more than 180 degrees in a direction of travel of said roller, and means for moving said at least one inking roller with respect to said scraper to control the amount of ink on said inking roller, said means being independent of said additional scraper.

2. An ink transfer device compr sing two rollers, an ink reservoir receiving a portion of one of said rollers, supports for said rollers, one of said supports being movable with respect to the other for adjustably supporting said rollers on spaced parallel co-extensive axes for rotation in opposite angular directions, a scraper engaging peripheral and end surfaces of said one of said rollers, said scraper and the other of said rollers being mounted on said other of said supports, whereby adjustment of said supports controls separation of peripheral surfaces of said rollers and separation of said scraper from said one of said rollers for determining the amount of ink transferred to said other roller, and two additional scrapers engaging end surfaces of said other roller at a portion thereof angularly displaced from the plane of said axes in the direction of rotation of said other roller for preventing ink transfer from said end surfaces to the peripheral surface of said other roller, said additional scrapers being mounted on the support for said other rollers, whereby said adjustment leaves the effectiveness of said last-named scrapers unimpaired.

3. A marking machine including a marking roller having a raised peripheral portion containing marking characters and rotatable on a horizontal axis, means for supporting objects to be marked in engagement with said raised peripheral portion, said roller having an axial groove adjacent said raised portion for receiving said objects after marking, a receptacle for receiving said objects from said groove, inking rollers rotatable on parallel axes and in peripheral engagement for inking said marking characters, an ink 6. reservoir, one of said inking rollers extendinginto said reservoir, supports for said inking rollers, one of said supports being adjustable ;to. vary the spacing between said inkingrollerstfor controlling the amount of ink transfer, and means for preventing smudges on said markingiroller, said 'means including a scraper engagingan end surface of one of said inking rollers, said oneiof said inking rollers being mounted for peripheral engagement with said marking Characterssaid scraper being fixed with respect to said :one -Iof said inking rollers and movable with respectto the other of said inking rollers, whereby the smudge control of said machine is independent of the ink quantity control thereof. Y

L An ink tra'ns'fer devicecomprising an upper roller and a lower roller mounted'forrotation inoppositeangular directions on parallel axes lying in a vertical plane, a longitudinal portion of said rollers being in mutual engagement, an ink reservoir, said lower roller extending into said reservoir, whereby a longitudinal portion and end portions of said lower roller receive ink from said reservoir, a fixed support for said upper roller, a U-shaped scraper fixed to said support and having a transverse portion and two legs, an edge of said transverse portion engaging a longitudinal portion of said lower roller for limiting the amount of ink fed to said upper roller, said legs engaging opposite ends of said lower roller for removing ink picked up by said ends, a second scraper fixed to said support engaging adjacent ends of said rollers for removing ink from said ends extruded by said mutual engagement of said rollers, and a movable support for said lower roller for moving said lower roller to and away from said upper roller and said U-shaped scraper for adjustably controlling the amount of ink transferred by said lower roller to said upper roller.

5. An ink transfer device comprising a lower roller and an upper roller mounted for rotation in opposite angular directions on parallel axes lying in a vertical plane, a longitudinal portion of each of said rollers being in mutual engagement, an ink reservoir, said lower roller extending into said reservoir, a fixed support for said upper roller, a U-shaped scraper mounted on said fixed support and engaging the ends of said lower roller and a surface portion of said lower roller displaced angularly from said reservoir less than 180 degrees in the direction of rotation of said lower roller, for removing excess ink picked up. by said ends and said surface portion of the lower roller, a second scraper engaging an end of said upper roller at a portion thereof displaced angularly less than degrees from the location of said mutual engagement in the direction of rotation of said upper roller, for removing ink extruded to said end by said mutual engagement of the rollers, and an adjustable support for the lower roller for adjusting the pressure between the rollers at said mutual engagement thereof and between said lower roller and said U shaped scraper, for varying the amount of ink fed to the upper roller by the lower roller.

6. An ink transfer device comprising a plurality of rollers in tangent relation, one of said rollers having raised characters for making an imprint on work pieces, an ink reservoir, another of said rollers extending into said reservoir, an inter mediate roller for transferring ink from said another of said roller to said raised characters on said one of said rollers, fixed supports for said one and said intermediate of said rollers, and

means for controlling the amount of ink transferred to said raised characters to prevent smudged imprints on'the work pieces, said means comprising two scrapers fixed to the support for said intermediate of said rollers, one of said scrapers engaging a surface of said another of said rollers emergingrfrom said ink reservoir for controlling the amount of ink fed to said intermediate roller, the other of said scrapers engaging an end of said intermediate roller for removing ink extruded to said end by said tangent relation of said intermediate roller and said another roller, and an adjustable support for said another of said rollers for adjusting the pressure of said intermediate roller and said one of said scrapers on said another of said rollers for controlling the amount of ink fed to said intermediate roller.

EUGENE GARRAHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 687,752 Hewston Dec. 3, 1901 1,312,481 Huneke Aug. 5, 1919 1,677,679 Molins July 17, 1928 1,840,069 Walker et a1 Jan. 5, 1932 1,975,681 Brawn Oct. 2, 1934 2,369,814 Worthington Feb. 20, 1945 2,435,452 Linn et a1 Feb. 3, 1948 

